The tripartite model of an old-industrial northwestern part of the country, of an efficient and dynamic Third Italy, mainly driven by small and medium firms' agglomeration, and a peripheral lagging South still influences the economic debate on regional development: small firms tend to be regarded as the most dynamic industrial organisation, and for this reason, regions with a high proportion of small firms tend to have higher economic growth. The aim of the paper is to present the Italian reality on the basis of some recent data on regional growth and innovation patterns. The results are surprising. Among them, that regional industrial structure in Italy seems to depart from the traditional tripartite model and that they diverge with the traditional tripartite model even in the level of competitiveness of Italian regions.
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